Burning Question
by MeWantTitleMatch
Summary: It's Heath Slater's anniversary! He should be happy, but he just can't shake off the burning question in the back of his mind. Fluff, Heath Slater/OC


_Sorry for the absence. I've been caught up in college stuff and will be at least for the next week. I also have a slight case of writer's block, which produced this story. Enjoy this bit of Heath Slater fluff._

**Burning Question**

"Okay Joy, I love you. See you soon. Bye." Heath closed his cell phone and placed it back into his bag. He pulled his boots out and sat down on the bench in the locker room.

"Hey Heath," a familiar South African accent said, "was that Joy?" Justin sat down on the bench opposite Heath, sipping from a bottle of water.

"Yeah, she's real excited about getting to spend our anniversary together." Heath replied, not looking up from lacing his boots.

Justin capped his water. "You don't seem excited…everything okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah! I'm just a little tired, naw mean? This hectic travel schedule is kind of throwing me for a loop." Heath gave Justin a small smile.

"Well you get to go home tomorrow. That's a plus." Justin smirked. "Got anything…special planned for her?"

Heath playfully punched Justin in the shoulder. "That's none of your business, Gabriel!" He started on his other boot. "And besides, since she messed up her ankle and we can't go to Six Flags like we originally planned, she decided to cook a special dinner for the two of us."

Justin let out a low whistle. "Heath, you're so lucky."

Heath looked up at his friend. "What do you mean? You've got Indigo."

"I meant that…well, Joy is JBL's daughter, right?"

"Yes."

"And he's quite a wealthy business man."

"What's your point, Justin?"

Justin sighed. "My point is that she should be a spoiled brat. But she's so sweet and down to earth. She wants to make dinner for you!" He paused to chuckle. "You'd think that she would've gone after Ted DiBiase. That's the kind of life she's used to."

* * *

_That's the kind of life she's used to._

Justin's words resonated in Heath's mind during his entire two-hour drive home. He'd been lucky enough to have a live event so close to his home in Pineville and he wasn't scheduled to appear for another week so he had several days to spend with his wife before he had to return to the tour. He couldn't wait for her ankle to heal so she would be able to come back as well. He missed seeing her backstage and listening to her and JBL banter playfully on commentary.

He pulled into their driveway. He grabbed his bag out of the car and made his way toward the door to the house, stopping to admire the newly blossomed flowers under the windows. He smiled; Joy had always had a green thumb.

"Joy? Honey, I'm home." Heath called, letting himself in with his key. He looked around the living room. The furniture had been moved around and the walls had been painted blue. A new rocking chair sat in the corner of the room, a fleece throw blanket draped over the back. He moved toward the kitchen and was greeted by his wife.

"Happy anniversary, Heath." Joy smiled, standing in the entryway to the kitchen. She was clad in a simple yellow sundress, a matching yellow clip in her curly poof of hair. She was barefoot and a heavy black brace adorned her left ankle. After injuring her ankle in a match against Sugar Michaels, Joy still had some rehab to do.

Heath went over to her and wrapped his arms around her. "Happy anniversary, Joy." He kissed her forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too." Joy leaned up and pecked his lips. "Now come see! I made you dinner!" She grabbed his hand and led him into the kitchen.

Heath was floored at food spread out before him. A pan of fresh fried chicken, baked macaroni and cheese, green beans, yams, and cornbread. All his childhood favorites. His face broke out in a grin as Joy placed a pitcher of iced tea on the table then went to pull a pie out of the oven. Helping himself to a plate, he sat down across from her.

"You did all this by yourself?" Heath asked, biting into a piece of chicken. It was delicious. Not that her cooking wasn't always delicious, but this type of food was different from her usual culinary creations.

Joy giggled. "No, your mother came by to help."

"Mama came?" Heath's mother had been very apprehensive when he'd first brought her home. She'd warned him that she was simply interested in him because he "was a change of pace from rich city boys" and that once his novelty wore off, she'd be on to the next one. She was merely the first in the long line of people to call him a country boy novelty.

"Yeah. I told her what I wanted to do and she came over." Joy shrugged. "She took me shopping and helped me cook. Dear lord, I've never seen someone put so much butter in a pot of green beans!"

Heath laughed at that. "Maybe Mama is starting to like you."

"Or maybe," Joy leveled a look at him. "she's starting to realize that I'm not going anywhere. Trust me, Daddy had the same problem with you. He thought you only wanted to be with me to get at my money. Now he's just happy that I'm happy." She smiled at him.

The two talked and ate, filling each other in on the daily activities of their lives. She told him all about her cooking adventure with his mother. Her adventures in the farmers market. How she had never sweated in a kitchen so much before.

Listening to her was a little bittersweet to Heath. Living in a small country town had to be an enormous change from the fast pace of New York City. She had to go to local groceries instead of the high end wholesalers she was used to. She wore simpler clothes when she went out in town, her designer duds hanging in the back of her closet. And, as she had admitted before, southern hospitality was a bit difficult for her to deal with. JBL had taught her copious amounts of etiquette and she came off as cold and indifferent to his friendly neighbors.

_That's the kind of life she's used to._

She'd given up a lot of her comforts to be with him.

"Are you happy with me?" Heath blurted out before he could stop himself.

She dropped her fork in surprise. "What?"

"Are you happy?" He repeated, placing his fork down as well.

"What kind of question is that? Of course I'm happy with you!"

Heath went on as if she hadn't spoken. "This isn't the kind of life you're used to! You grew up in a luxury penthouse apartment in New York City."

"Heath…"

"With a nanny and housekeepers and gourmet snacks and meals."

"Heath."

"New cars, vacations to the Bahamas."

"Heath! Shut up!" Joy snapped.

Heath quieted, his gaze sliding downward to the table.

"Look," Joy sighed. "Yes, it's a little different from what I grew up with. It's not what I'm used to. But all this time with you, learning your country customs, from the farmers market to the berry picking, has been a blast. I'm sure you're just as out of your element in New York."

"A little…" Heath whispered.

Joy walked around the table and put her arms around him. She kissed him on the cheek. "Heath, this life is very different from my childhood, but I'm happy. You know why?"

"Why?"

She kissed him again. "Because this is the life I'm building with you."


End file.
